A few days ago, we talked about the Intel X299 chipset which would support Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X CPUs. Well, it looks like Benchlife has confirmed that Intel has already begun sampling these chips in the industry.

Intel Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors are expected to launch in second half of 2017. These processors are being aimed specifically at enthusiasts. The platform would be totally new with a new chipset, socket, CPU line and support for next-generation I/O technologies such as Intel Optane.

Industry sources confirm that Intel has begun sampling their HEDT processors for LGA 2066 socket. One such CPU has already been pictured. The chip is stamped with the “Intel Confidential” label along with a codename that says “QL2T” and a clock speed of 2.40 GHz. Being an early sample, it’s expected to see lower clocks on such models.

There’s also the R4 label on the PCB of the chip. The R4 label is for the socket type, we confirmed it earlier that the LGA 2066 is codenamed R4.

Intel Skylake-X HEDT Processors For X299 Chipset

The Intel Skylake-X family is a new name for Skylake-E which is built for high-end desktop PCs. The family will be aimed at enthusiasts and will be launching in 2H 2017. The Skylake-X chips will be replacing the Broadwell-E family which launched a few months ago.

Information suggests that Skylake-X processors will be available in same core configuration as Broadwell-E with 10, 8 and 6 core variants and TDP’s adjusted around 140W while delivering better IPC with the new Skylake architecture. We can expect similar if not higher pricing structure for these processors.

Intel Kaby Lake-X HEDT Processors For X299 Chipset

Intel would also be offering Kaby Lake-X processors on their HEDT platform. They would launch at the same time as Skylake-X but available in only Quad Core package. The surprising thing here is that the Kaby Lake-X SKUs will feature a TDP between 95-112W on a 14nm node. This means that we might be looking at much higher clock speeds compared to current generation quad core models.

In fact, the Kaby Lake family uses a more optimized architecture compared to Skylake which will allow Intel to finer tune its performance for better performance and efficiency. The Kaby Lake-X series of processors feature up to 16 PCI-E Gen 3.0 lanes.

Intel HEDT Processor Families:

Intel HEDT Family

Gulftown

Sandy Bridge-E

Ivy Bridge-E

Haswell-E

Broadwell-E

Skylake-X

Kaby Lake-X

Cascade Lake-X

Process Node

32nm

32nm

22nm

22nm

14nm

14nm+

14nm++

14nm++?

Flagship SKU

Core i7-980X

Core i7-3960X

Core i7-4960X

Core i7-5960X

Core i7-6950X

Core i7-7000

Core i7/i5-7000 Series

Core i7-8000 series

Max Cores/Threads

6/12

6/12

6/12

8/16

10/20

18/36

4/8

?

Clock Speeds

3.33/3,60 GHz

3.30/3.90 GHz

3.60/4.00 GHz

3.00/3.50 GHz

3.00/3.50 GHz

TBD/4.50 GHz

4.30/4.50 GHz

TBD

Max Cache

12 MB L3

15 MB L3

15 MB L3

20 MB L3

25 MB L3

24.75 MB L3

8 MB L3

TBD

Max PCI-Express Lanes

32 Gen2

40 Gen2

40 Gen3

40 Gen3

40 Gen3

44 Gen3

16 Gen3

TBD

Chipset Compatiblity

X58 Chipset

X79 Chipset

X79 Chipset

X99 Chipset

X99 Chipset

X299

X299

X299?

Socket Compatiblity

LGA 1366

LGA 2011

LGA 2011

LGA 2011-3

LGA 2011-3

LGA 2066

LGA 2066

LGA 2066?

Memory Compatiblity

DDR3-1066

DDR3-1600

DDR3-1866

DDR4-2133

DDR4-2400

DDR4-2667

DDR4-2667

DDR4-2800?

Max TDP

130W

130W

130W

140W

140W

165W

112W

TBD

Launch

Q1 2010

Q4 2011

Q3 2013

Q3 2014

Q2 2016

Q3 2017

Q2 2017

2018

Launch Price

$999 US

$999 US

$999 US

$1059 US

$1700 US

$1999 US

$339 US

TBD

Expect more information on Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X chips when launch approaches. For now, we are close to the launch of Kaby Lake-S family of processors which will be launching on 5th January at CES 2017.